Millions of men and women would love to kick their unhealthy smoking habit. Cigarettes are detrimental to everyone's health, and have a particular long-term impact on the lungs of smokers. The advice in this article should provide you with a good starting point for ridding yourself of the habit of smoking.
Writing down a list of positives and negatives about quitting can help increase your chance succeeding. Putting things on paper can have a profound effect on your mental outlook. It can keep you focused on your goal, which should make it easier to quit.
You will find it hard to do some of your normal routines while you are quitting smoking. For example, going to a bar with friends who smoke. When your friend goes outside for a cigarette, resist the urge to go with them to keep them company. Everything that you once did as a smoker, you will be able to do again.
If you're doing well on your stop smoking journey, don't forget to reward yourself. Treat yourself to a nice massage, a pedicure, or a special new outfit when you've cut back, and then something else when you've stopped entirely. You need to have rewards like this to look forward to, as they can help to keep you motivated.
When you smoke, you sometimes are just obsessed with the feeling of having something in your mouth. This can be replaced with a less dangerous habit such as chewing gum or eating candy. Anytime you feel like smoking, just have a piece of hard candy or chew a stick of gum.
If you want to kick your smoking habit, enlist the support of your friends and loved ones. Ask them to provide you with encouragement and not criticism. Let them know that in the beginning of the process, you will probably not be in the best of moods and that your thought processes may be off. You'll need the support of others during this process.
If you are worried about gaining weight as you begin to quit, then you should try to incorporate a moderate exercise regimen into your daily routine to help curb any weight gain that you might experience. Exercise is the best way to prevent any weight gain from your quitting.
Eliminate the triggers you associate with smoking cigarettes. For instance, if you always smoke when you are talking on the phone, than you need to find something else to do with your hands, or go to a different room to talk so that you do not think about lighting a cigarette. Come up with something that can distract you at those times.
Be cognizant of routine activities that trigger the desire to have a smoke. For some, it is the first cup of coffee in the morning. For others it may be the end of a meal, or socializing with smoking friends. Whatever your trigger may be, this is the time you must remind yourself that you are quitting because you care enough about yourself that you want to.
Believe it or not, exercise can be the key you need to quitting smoking. Usually, many people smoke because they feel overwhelmed or stressed out. When they feel stressed, they turn to cigarettes for support. Cigarettes can be replaced by exercise. Also, exercise is good for a person's overall health.
Talk to your doctor about prescription medicines. If you want to ease nicotine withdrawal symptoms, consider prescription medications. There are certain medications that affect the chemical balance in your brain and can help reduce cravings. There are also drugs that can reduce bothersome withdrawal symptoms, like inability to concentrate or depression.
Find ways to keep your body and mind busy when you quit smoking. Take up walking as this will also help you get in better shape. Another great idea to keep your hands busy is to find a hobby. Learn to sew, knit or learn woodworking. You won't have time to think about cigarettes when you stay busy.
Reduce the amount of cigarettes you have each day until you reach zero. Unless there is a health reason for you to stop smoking immediately, quitting tobacco is easier when you do it gradually. Cut back on cigarettes first and quitting will be less of a shock to your body.
Make sure you tell yourself that you are not going to smoke each and every day. As you get up in the morning, you should try telling yourself that you are not going to smoke a single cigarette. Reaffirming this goal in your mind each morning will keep you on track to successful smoking cessation.
Hopefully this article has given you some practical advice to get you ready to drop the smoking habit for good. As you are quitting, keep in mind all of the people that love you and want you to live a long and healthy life. Take the tips that you have read here and set yourself on a path to being free from nicotine.